Links

To learn more about the UK film industry, including regional festivals currently accepting submissions or online forums where you can share information with fellow film makers, scroll down through the page below. Here you will find descriptions and links for many established and shaping film initiatives. Information has been arranged into the following categories:  FESTIVALS and COMPETITIONS, RESOURCES and NETWORKS, FILM VENUES and DISTRIBUTION, TRAINING and SUPPORT.

FESTIVALS and COMPETITIONS

BAFTA

www.bafta.org

BBC Film Network

http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/

BBC Film Network promotes new British filmmaking by screening short films and profiling the people that make them. Three new films are showcased in broadband quality every week, adding to a growing catalogue of over 300 shorts from traditional drama and comedy to cutting edge animation and music promos. Users are invited to offer feedback by commenting on and rating films. The site also provides weekly magazine content, featuring interviews with established filmmakers such as Julian Temple, Nick Park, Stephen Wooley, Miranda July and Michael Winterbottom. Recently Film Network has started offering films as hi-resolution downloads with digital rights-management. The site currently receives 100,000 visitors per month and has 8,000 registered members.

Belfast Film Festival
www.belfastfilmfestival.org
The Belfast Film Festival (March 23-April 1 2006) is at the forefront in championing cultural film exhibition in Northern Ireland, featuring local and international premieres, classic cinema, special events, documentary focus, a short film competition and a socio-political strand of films with a related publication attracting both local interest and visitors wishing to explore the more political elements of life and film in Belfast.

Birds Eye View
www.birds-eye-view.co.uk

Birds Eye View showcases the work of women directors at our festival and short film events around the country. Birds Eye View celebrates women's vision in film. In doing so we promote emerging talent, inspire innovation and creativity, educate a new generation, challenge perceptions of cinema, and entertain audiences with the work of women filmmakers.

Brief Encounters - Bristol International Short Film Festival
www.brief-encounters.org.uk
Brief Encounters 11th Bristol International Short Film Festival (23 - 27 November 2005) continues to champion new talent within the film industry by showcasing an exciting and inspiring array of new shorts from around the globe. As an essential forum where talent meets the industry, our programme of events resumes with the Film School, Market Place and Surgeries, VIP guests, special events, parties and awards.

Edinburgh Film Festival
www.edfilmfest.org.uk
The Edinburgh International Film Festival is now in its 58th year and since 1947 has become established as the true home of innovative and exciting cinema.

Kinofilm- Manchester International Short Film Festival
www.kinofilm.org.uk
Kinofilm, Manchester International Short Film Festival (20 - 26th October) includes programmes such as British New Wave and International Panorama, showcasing outstanding award winning films from festivals worldwide. Kino's mission is to create awareness and understanding of the short film format, through exhibition, distribution, promotion and education.

Leeds International Film Festival
www.leedsfilm.com
Celebrating and exploring the vast unseen universe of cinema, the pioneering Leeds Film presents the annual Leeds International Film Festival (10-20 November), the year-round Leeds Film Quarter series and the Leeds Young People's Film Festival.

Raindance
www.raindance.co.uk
Be independent. Learn the rules and break them. Raindance Film Festival is glad to be the biggest independent film festival in Britain, promoting and encouraging new talent to emerge. A wide offer on courses about producing, writing and directing, there to provide you with the tools to make it in the world of film is part of our concept to discover true talent and un-spool and boost your career.

Super Shorts

www.supershorts.org.uk

Super Shorts is the UK's only major film festival which celebrates and showcases films of no longer than five minutes in length. Presented by Talent Circle.

The Oddball Challenge
www.oddballchallenge.com
The Oddball Challengeis to produce a 5min short film in just 48 or 24 hours from a theme & a title given to you on the day. In just 3 years the oddball challenge's have produced over 860+ short films.

The Times bfi London Film Festival
www.lff.org.uk
The Times bfi London Film Festival, this year taking place between 19 October – 3 November 2005, is Europe’s largest public film event and is a celebration of film in all its forms. It represents the very best of new film from the entire spectrum of world cinema and is a unique event in the UK’s cultural and social calendar.

RESOURCES and NETWORKS

British Council (Film and Literature Department)
www.britishcouncil.org/arts-film.htm
The British Council is the UK’s international cultural relations organisation. It’s Film and Literature Department aims to broaden and build international audiences for new work from Britain.

British Film Institute
www.bfi.org.uk
The bfi’s mission is to champion moving image culture, in all its richness and diversity, across the UK, for the benefit of as wide an audience as possible and to create and encourage debate.

Brit Films (British Council)
www.britfilms.com
Online news and information resource on the British film industry for filmmakers, it includes online versions of the International Film Festivals Directory and British Films Catalogue.

Screen Daily
www.screendaily.com
ScreenDaily.com is the website for Screen International magazine - the International Voice of the Film Business. The only online news and information service dedicated exclusively to international film, ScreenDaily.com delivers all the latest news plus the latest box office charts for 25 territories and a 5 year archive with 20,000 articles - the perfect research tool.

Shooting People
www.shootingpeople.org
hooting People has revitalised and facilitated independent filmmaking in the UK and is now setting its sights on transforming the way audiences can access the films and talent it supports. Founded by two filmmakers, Shooting People is now the largest independent filmmaking community in the world, providing over 28,000 filmmakers in the UK and abroad with the network, support, resources, knowledge, information and opportunities vital to thrive in the indie film industry.

Stellar Network
www.stellarnetwork.com
Stellar Network is a membership-based organisation connecting the UK's film, theatre and television professionals. Offering members a unique programme of social, development and interactive opportunities, Stellar actively supports and energises the UK's community of creative talent.

Talent Circle
www.talentcircle.co.uk
Talent Circle is the UK’s leading filmmaker and casting network. The website features industry news, jobs and resources and Talent Circle regularly host networking events and seminars.

The Hollywood Reporter
www.thehollywoodreporter.com
The Hollywood Reporter provides daily international, in-depth breaking news coverage on all aspects of the entertainment industry, including film, television, music, home video and digital media.

UK Film Talk
www.ukfilmtalk.co.uk
An online forum where members can network with other film makers and enthusiasts, post film reviews and access film classifieds. The site includes a section dedicated to Short Films.

FILM VENUES, PRODUCTION & DISTRIBUTION

Atom Films
www.atomfilms.com
An online showcase for short films of all genres which continuously accepts submissions and pays royalties to those films accepted for online and commercial distribution.

Cinema 16
www.cinema16.co.uk
Cinema16 celebrates the short film by showcasing some of the best classic and award-winning shorts on DVD giving filmmakers and movie-lovers access to some great films that would otherwise be near impossible to see.

Curzon Cinemas
www.curzoncinemas.com
Curzon Cinemas is the home of independent and international art-house film and was one of the first cinemas to import foreign language films in the UK. Its two sides, Curzon Mayfair and Curzon Soho, are dedicated to first feature runs, premieres, repertoire screenings, film festivals, Q&A’s, masterclasses, short films and more.

Future Shorts
www.futureshorts.com
Future Shorts has created a vast network that enables filmmakers to have their work seen on the largest platform in Europe, exposing audiences to an original, diverse and quality slate of films. From drama to animation and documentary, programs promise to challenge, inspire and above all entertain.

Shorts International
www.shortsinternational.com
SHORTS INTERNATIONAL is the programming and distribution arm of Britshorts
and with offices in London and New York. SHORTS INTERNATIONAL represent the
world’s largest and most diverse catalogue of short films available for
worldwide distribution across all media.

The Hospital
www.thehospital.co.uk
The Hospital is a creative centre for the artistic and multi–media community, specifically designed to enable members to create and develop good ideas into tangible realities through TV and music studios, an exhibition space, restaurant and private members’ club.

Underground Films

www.undergroundfilms.net

Underground Films & Management is an LA based production and management company dedicated to finding, producing and managing the careers of talented filmmakers and screenwriters. Founded in 2000 by British producer Nicholas Osborne, we specialise in breaking first-time feature directors and writers. We look for fresh and entertaining projects across all genres and to continue pushing the voices of European filmmakers in the features world. Please contact our London office for more information: neil@undergroundfilms.net

TRAINING and SUPPORT

The British Academy of Film & Television
www.bafta.org
Via its educational events programme & high-profile Award ceremonies covering Film, Television, Children's and Interactive Entertainment, The British Academy of Film & Television Arts is the UK's leading organisation supporting, developing, promoting and rewarding achievements in the artforms of the moving image.

Film London
www.filmlondon.org.uk
Film London is the strategic agency for film and media in the capital. We support the development of all the screen industries based in the capital – film, television, video, advertising and new interactive media. Our aim is simple: to sustain, promote and develop London as a major international film-making and film cultural capital.

London Film Academy
www.londonfilmacademy.com
The London Film Academy, a non-profit making trust founded in January 2002, is an innovative venture in professional film training for a new generation of filmmakers meeting the demand for a high standard of relevant practical training at foundation level.

London Film School
www.lfs.org.uk
The London Film School offers a 2 year, full time, MA programme in Film Making with professional-level training in all the major departments.

The Metropolitan Film School

www.metfilmschool.co.uk  

The Metropolitan Film School is London's leading provider of digital filmmaking courses; we're proud to be at the forefront of digital filmmaking technologies and the transition to HD. Our courses range from a One-Year Digital Filmmaking Diploma to specialisations in Documentary, Screenwriting and Directing.

National Film & Television School
www.nftsfilm-tv.ac.uk
The UK's national centre of excellence for postgraduate education in film and television programme-making offers MA and Diploma courses in the major creative and craft disciplines.

New Producers’ Alliance
www.npa.org.uk
The NPA is a non-profit national membership and training organisation for
independent new producers, which aims to support, encourage and enable new filmmakers.

New York Film Academy
www.nyfa.com
Designed for aspiring filmmakers, screenwriters, actors, producers and animators who share a passion for motion pictures and want to learn by making their own projects in a hands-on, intensive program.

Skillset
www.skillset.org
Skillset is the Sector Skills Council for the Audio Visual Industries, which comprise broadcast, film, video, interactive media and photo imaging. Jointly funded by those industries and the Government, our job is to make sure that the UK audio visual industries have the right people, with the right skills, in the right place, at the right time, so that our industries remain competitive.

The Script Factory
www.scriptfactory.co.uk
One of Europe’s leading development organisations working to support screenwriters by finding and developing new screenwriting talent.